The Guardian says Redknapp has made a move to sign Lassana Diarra from Real Madrid and talks with the midfielder are believed to be progressing positively.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager signed Diarra for £5.5m in January 2008 when he was in charge at Portsmouth and, 12 months later, the France international joined Real for £20m.

Redknapp continues to rate Diarra not only as one of his best ever pieces of business but as a high-quality player and, having failed in his attempt to bolster his midfield options with the £7m bid for the West Ham United captain Scott Parker, he has turned to Diarra – who could follow William Gallas in playing for Chelsea, Arsenal and now Spurs.

Real do not want to loan the 25-year-old and his value as a permanent transfer would be in the region of £10m. Although that would represent a loss to the Spanish club, the president, Florentino Pérez, could attribute it to the previous regime.